All responsibility, little power: what can local government do to end homelessness?

Despite little authority or influence over housing, and much less access to funds than State or Federal counterparts, Local Government in Australia sits in an uncomfortable position when it comes to homelessness. While Councils are often expected by the community to ‘fix’ homelessness on streets, in parks and in other local places, they are under-funded and most often not considered by other levels of government, or the specialist service sector, to be a trusted or competent contributor in this space.

But Councils all around Australia are acting - they are pursuing many initiatives, often seen as being 'outside of their lane' - to act on poverty and disadvantage in their local communities. And while they do this, most often with extremely limited funds and little direction, they must also navigate inherent tensions, balancing the many roles that Councils play in the delivery of community services and programs, land use planning, economic management and the maintenance of amenity and accessibility in shared public locations.

The roles that State and Federal Governments play in homelessness response are quite well articulated (if not always enacted), particularly in the funding, regulation and delivery of housing, however the levers available to Local Governments are less well known. With responsibility to manage local areas, like streets and parks, local government often finds itself at the forefront of homelessness response, however there are few tried and tested interventions, or guidelines that can help increasingly cash-poor Councils address significant social dilemmas that are playing out on their doorsteps.

I came across this very dilemma, when working for the capital city council in Melbourne, Australia. In 2016, the city experienced an exponential growth in street homelessness and the Council was expected by members of the community and challenged by the media to 'do something'. With a high profile, media savvy mayor, with lots of influence but limited actual power, the Council oscillated in public opinion between being the 'saviour of the disadvantaged', to a 'failure in delivering community safety' and the 'wrecker of local business'.

What we did not have was a guidebook on what to do when a complex problem like homelessness became both our daily concern and front page news. We did not properly understand the levers available to us - what we could do to respond if we did not have a supply of housing available, and what else we could influence, or do, to bring about positive outcomes for the people experiencing homelessness in the public spaces that we managed.

While there is only one pathway out of homelessness - housing - there is more that Councils can do, even when they hold the day-to-day problem and predominantly must rely on others to implement the solutions. Based on experience and conversations with local government colleagues in Australia and overseas, an eight-point plan has been developed outlining the actions that Councils can take to address homelessness in their local area.

1. Homelessness prevention

While often seen as the most important intervention of all, homelessness prevention methods are often hard to articulate and measure in a local government context. Many Councils already undertake interventions that go largely unrecognised, as homelessness prevention activities as part of their legislated health and wellbeing responsibilities. These may include activities to promote mental wellbeing and supporting economic and social inclusion. A deliberate focus on prevention and well-articulated measures will assist in preventing homelessness to occur in the first place for many.

2. Service coordination and network building

As the closest level of government to the people, Councils are recognised for their reach into community and the higher level of trust often afforded to them, over their state and federal counterparts. Councils can build on this by establishing networks that bring together specialist homelessness services, working in a local community. Additionally, while Councils might be relatively small geographically and limited in funds, there are always opportunities to combine efforts and build economies of scale in homelessness response.

3. Management of voluntary charities and services 

Service coordination efforts can also be applied in managing and influencing the impact of grassroots or spontaneous charitable efforts that arise and respond to local food or support needs. Tapping into local goodwill efforts and ensuring connection to professional services, Councils are in the position to regulate spaces under their control, monitor outputs and forge mentoring partnerships that can help direct charitable initiatives in ways that do not entrench homelessness.

4. Data collection 

Through the worldwide zero movement, Councils are playing a much greater role in capturing specific, local information about homelessness. While point-in-time street counts can only provide an overall number to measure homelessness, 'by name' lists capture details of every unsheltered person in a given area, ensuring they are known by services and connections are made. This information, which is gathered over a number of days and nights through a detailed questionnaire can be used for individual response while also providing an overall picture of homelessness in a given area, for advocacy and fundraising purposes.

5. Utilising Council facilities for frontline intervention

Councils have physical presence in their communities, often managing some of the only freely accessible public spaces in a local area, where no transaction is required for entry. This includes locations such as public libraries and neighbourhood houses, where many customers are known by Council staff and all people feel welcomed. Locations such as these, as well as other frontline and paid service locations, like customer service centres and gyms can be regarded safe spaces for interaction with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The placement of in-house social workers and social prescribing programs have proven very successful in engaging with and providing assistance to harder to reach community members.

6. Capitalising on staff connections and knowledge

Council staff may also be great sources for collecting data about a local homelessness situation. It may not be in their standard job description (and perhaps it should), but customer facing-staff observe and sometimes get to know individuals and build trust that can be invaluable when needs arise. Frontline workers like customer relations officers, librarians, community development and recreation staff, compliance and local laws officers and park rangers might also build a good understanding of a person's or community's needs through passive surveillance. Even animal shelter workers might come across opportunities to connect with people at high risk of homelessness, if because of their economic or living situation they are unable to keep caring for their pets.

7. Advocacy and Education

The breadth of experience that Councils have with local community and the ability to engage and work with local people experiencing homelessness places Councils in a strong position to advocate for response and system changes. Taking the data and insights gathered both formally and through various incidental interactions, Councils can advocate to other levels of government and other bodies for increased action and funding. Councils are also in a strong position to use local information to educate community, businesses and elected members, breaking stereotypes and helping build human rights movements.

8. Housing supply

While some Australian Councils are able to contribute to housing supply and some have established their own housing entity, like Homes Melbourne, Port Phillip Housing Association and Moreland Affordable Housing, most Councils do not have the capacity to do so. While a one-off contribution of a building or space may be possible, the extent of what local government can offer, often pales in comparison to the billions of dollars that Federal and State Governments can contribute.

One of the few levers that local government holds in this space is control over the local planning scheme, with planning controls, permits and zoning considerations all viable tools. Through negotiation, voluntary affordable housing agreements can be used to direct and influence contributions by property developers from the private and public sector. Collaboration between Council planners and homelessness service staff is key to build a clear understanding of the capacity to negotiate on individual planning submissions and is a good first step in influencing the number of social and affordable properties built within a municipality. Many advocates have also lobbied for State Governments to introduce mandatory inclusionary zoning requirements that will make it compulsory for new developments to include a level of affordable housing.

By looking at what Councils have to offer through new eyes and backing that up with the structural and financial support they need to get the job done, we will inevitably see new opportunities and realise outcomes like we have not seen before, resulting in the creation of more equitable and just cities.